Administration system

ABSTRACT

An administration system to assist administrators of an event having multiple participants, the system adapted to allow a system administrator to collect, analyse and distribute up to date information about at least one participant, the administration system comprising data collection means including a participant identification means for each participant having at least one identifying feature of the participant recorded thereon and at least one data processing unit adapted to allow recognize and collect information relating to each participant of the event, a data storage means associated with the at least one data collection means to store at least a copy of all information collected by the data collection means, and data distribution means adapted to allow access to the information contained in the data storage means.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to administration and in particular theadministration of sporting and recreational events.

BACKGROUND ART

The administration of sporting fixtures and events, in terms oforganisation and reporting to governing bodies can be quite onerous andtime consuming.

If, for example, a sporting venue hosts ten team games per day twentyteams are involved and administrators and officials of the day arerequired to record and report all events, particularly in relation toindividual participants, incidents which are claimed to be undesirable,e.g. undue parental interference or attitudes, a large amount of work isinvolved.

Most organised competitions also require that a record be kept of thestatistics of each player in order to determine player eligibility forfinals games and details of scorers and the like. This creates anadditional administrative burden of requiring that a record of this bekept usually in the form of “sign-on” sheets. In the example above,twenty teams are involved on one day at one ground. The problems ofhaving each player sign on every game creates a problem for officialsand also creates a large amount of administrative inefficiency as theadministrator must later compile a list of players and the number ofgames and other statistics played during a season manually.

To date, the administration and reporting of such events is largely amanual process.

Most sporting codes have strict rules relating to the eligibility ofplayers for particular team grades and it is important thatadministrators are not duped into allowing players to participate inevents for which they do not qualify. A secure means of identifying thebona fides of players is essential for this purpose.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an administrationsystem for sporting and recreational events which addresses theaforesaid issues and provides the public with a useful choice.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, an administration system isprovided.

The present invention is intended to assist the administrators in thefollowing areas: reduced paperwork and administration time associatedwith player and game statistics; enhanced security in order to restrictinappropriate player substitutions; enhanced communication betweenplayers, parents and administrators; provide a promotional vehicle toaid sponsors and assist in the promotion of an individual Association.

The system may preferably be used by an upper-level association havingsubsidiary members. The members may be other associations or individualmember clubs consisting of one or more teams and/or individuals.

To achieve these goals the present invention uses three main components:

-   -   (i) Data collection,    -   (ii) A data storage and collation facility,    -   (iii) Data distribution.

All three components are able to interact with each other and combine toprovide a tool that is able to collect information on game day anddistribute up-to-date information into the homes of all players andofficials while saving administrative time in the process.

The data collection process may comprise in itself two major components.The first is a photographic identification (ID) card which isdistributed to all players and officials at the start of each season.

The card provides photographic ID and lists a players club and team aswell as other significant information required by each association.

The cards may also feature advertising space for sponsors as well assponsorship discounts that the card holder can use throughout the year.

Each card identifies the card holder and which is used to identify thecard holder and for the collection of information quickly and easily asthe bar code allows a large amount of information to be accessed easily.

The second component is a hand held palm and data processing unit. Thisunit enables the administration officials to collect player lists fromeach game as well as enter game statistics that may include game scores,point scorers, medical/injury information, start/finish times, umpirereports etc. After collection the data can be sent by email to a centralcollection facility.

The data collection may be performed in multiple different formats. Forexample, a list of payers taking part in a given game may be compiledquickly and easily by using the checklist in the hand held unit. Priorto a game commencing, all related data is uploaded from the main datastorage and information relating to each of the players accessed orviewed on the data processing unit virtually instantaneously.

The data storage facility may suitably be a database that is controlledand maintained by the association's main administrative staff. Thedatabase is used to retain all information that is collected fromplayers, officials, clubs, teams, games and other contacts which themember associations may use. The database can produce reports (thatinclude pictures) for each club, team or school in the association.Complete history of player performance can be accessed from thedatabase. Player registration, emergency contacts, schools, emailregister, club contact information, news Items can all be stored withinthe database. The database is also the central point that will collectthe information sent from each ground as part of the data collectionprocess.

The information stored in the database may be accessed and/or updatedeither remotely or through a fixed central access point. The fixedcentral access point may require the various hand held scanner and dataprocessing units used in the system to be returned to the access pointfor downloading or the like.

The data distribution system utilises the benefits of the internet andthe World Wide Web. From within their own homes, players, officials andthe general public can login to the secure website and find out thelatest game scores, view the draw, view current ladders, view picturesof club and team mates, find out latest news items. Everyone whoreceives an ID card also has log in access to the website and can viewareas such as “My Team”, “My Club”. The website also provides publicaccess where interested parties can access basic information about theassociation, clubs, age groups, where games are being played thisweekend.

The system may be designed with a variety of access levels available tousers to provide information to players, team managers and officials,club or association administrators and governing sporting bodies. Theinformation may be tailored to suit the desires of the various usergroups or to suit the type of information that the system providerdesires to release.

The system may be adapted to provide at least one, some or all of thefollowing capabilities:

-   -   Comprehensive guide to the services, facilities, competitions,        history, clubs and teams within a sporting competition as well        as contact information for all clubs,    -   Access to competition fixtures, results, venues and points        ladders,    -   Links to club websites as well as links to National sites,    -   Access to rules and by-laws of the particular game, and    -   News and events notification.    -   Access to game reports with breakdown of results, scorers, etc,    -   Access to personal details such as address and contact        information,    -   Personal statistics    -   Team Images    -   Club news and events    -   Reduced paperwork and increased convenience.    -   Access to team members contact details    -   Access to team members statistics    -   Access to administration forms etc    -   Access to a variety of team administration reports    -   Reduced match day paperwork,    -   Access to all of the club members contact details and statistics    -   Ability to add club news and events and/or electronic newsletter    -   Sponsorship opportunities on club pages    -   Data distribution saves time and cost of physical reproduction    -   Automatic collation of statistics    -   Increased efficiency including access at all times via the        internet and reduction in paperwork and physical record keeping.    -   Real time collection of data including compilation, analysis and        review    -   Opportunity cost with regard to useful time    -   Compilation of player histories    -   More convenient and useful access to information    -   Simplified distribution of data including reducing level of        manual data distribution    -   A variety of styles and filters provides access to a variety of        reports, and    -   System adapted to suit the requirements of individual        associations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present invention will now be described in relation tothe accompanying drawings in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the interrelated elements of thesystem.

FIG. 2 is a schematic site map for the related world wide computernetwork (or Web) site according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

With respect to the FIG. 1, data collected can be on-forwarded to a datastorage facility forwarded to a data distribution facility, in turncommunicable to the data collection facility.

From the point of view of commercialising the system, a number ofalternative user packages may be offered, for example:

-   A STANDARD PACKAGE, to include    -   Data collection/storage and administration software    -   Customised web site    -   Digital Camera.-   A STANDARD PLUS PACKAGE, to include    -   Data collection/storage and administration software    -   Customised web site    -   Digital Camera    -   Player ID cards-   A DELUXE PACKAGE, to include    -   Data collection/storage and administration software    -   Customised web site    -   Digital Camera    -   On ground data collection facility-   A DELUXE PLUS PACKAGE, to include    -   Data collection/storage and administration software    -   Customised web site    -   Digital Camera    -   Player ID cards    -   On ground data collection facility.

The system has been designed as a complete administration package. Thesystem provider benefits participants at all levels throughout thevarious associations. The system is designed with a variety of accesslevels that provide information to players, team managers and officials,club or association administrators and governing sporting bodies.

A brief outline of some of the benefits provided by the system to thevarious user groups is:

-   -   Public        -   Comprehensive guide to the services, facilities,            competitions, history, clubs and teams within a sporting            competition as well as contact information for all clubs,        -   Access to competition fixtures, results, venues and points            ladders,        -   Links to club websites as well as links to National sites,        -   Access to rules and by-laws of the particular game, and        -   News and events notification.    -   Players        -   All of the above plus        -   Access to game reports with breakdown of results, scorers,            etc,        -   Access to personal details such as address and contact            information,        -   Personal statistics        -   Team Images        -   Club news and events    -   Game and Team Officials        -   All of the above plus,        -   Access to team members contact details        -   Access to team members statistics        -   Access to administration forms etc        -   Access to a variety of team administration reports        -   Reduced match day paperwork.    -   Club Administrators        -   All of the above plus        -   Access to all of the club members contact details and            statistics        -   Ability to add club news and events and/or electronic            newsletter        -   Sponsorship opportunities on club pages        -   Data distribution saves time and cost of physical            reproduction        -   Automatic collation of statistics        -   Increased efficiency including access at all times via the            internet and reduction in paperwork and physical record            keeping.    -   Competition Administrators        -   All of the above plus        -   Real time collection of data including compilation, analysis            and review        -   Opportunity cost with regard to useful time        -   Compilation of player histories        -   More convenient and useful access to information        -   Simplified distribution of data including reducing level of            manual data distribution        -   A variety of styles and filters provides access to a variety            of reports, and        -   System adapted to suit the requirements of individual            associations.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of exampleonly and modifications and additions thereto may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope thereof.

1. An administration system to assist administrators of an event havingmultiple participants, the system adapted to allow a systemadministrator to collect analyse and distribute up to date informationabout at least one participant, the administration system comprising a.a participant identification means issued to each participant, having atleast one identifying feature of the participant recorded thereon; b. atleast one portable data collection means adapted to allow collection ofinformation relating to each participant of the event, upon presentationof the participant identification means, c. a remote data storage meansassociated with the at least one data processing unit to store at leasta copy of all information collected by the data collection means, and d.data distribution means adapted to allow access to the informationcontained in the data storage means.
 2. The administration systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the system operates on at least onecomputer having at least one controlling software application tocontrol, maintain and update the information stored in the data storagemeans and the functions of the system.
 3. The administration systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the data collection means further includesa checklist procedure associated with each data processing unit, thechecklist procedure being adapted to recognize the at least oneidentifying feature of each participant and to update the informationstored on the data storage means accordingly.
 4. The administrationsystem according to claim 1 wherein the data processing unit is usedremotely from the data storage means.
 5. The administration systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the data processing unit is adapted tocommunicate remotely with the data storage means.
 6. The administrationsystem according to claim 1 wherein the data processing unit is adaptedto provide at least one notification of a predetermined situationoccurring.
 7. The administration system according to claim 1 wherein thedata storage means comprises a network of computers.
 8. Theadministration system according to claim 1 wherein the data storagemeans is adapted to collect, analyses collate or filter informationstored therein and present the information for in a useable form.
 9. Theadministration system according to claim 1 wherein the data processingunit stored the information collected at least temporarily.
 10. Theadministration system according to claim 1 wherein the system operatesin virtually instantaneously allowing real time updates.
 11. Theadministration system according to claim 1 wherein the participantidentification means includes a code recognisable by the data processingmeans, the code identifying a participant and allowing access to theparticipant's information stored on the data storage means.
 12. Theadministration system according to claim 2 wherein the data processingmeans includes at least one software application compatible with thecontrolling software application to allow a user of the data processingmeans to access and filter information contained on the data storageunit.
 13. The administration system according to claim 1 wherein thedata distribution means is linked to the data storage means and isupdateable therefrom.
 14. The administration system according to claim13 wherein the data distribution means is updated automatically atpredetermined period from the data storage means.
 15. The administrationsystem according to claim 1 wherein a user is provided with one of aplurality of access levels each access level provided for securitypurposes and each access level granting access to information inresponse to parameters chosen by a user.
 16. The administration systemaccording to claim 15 wherein the access level of a user determines thetype and extent of information accessible by that user.
 17. Theadministration system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one dataprocessing unit is adapted to collect information about each participantin order to allow the production and maintenance of records in anelectronic form.
 18. The administration system according to claim 17wherein the information collected over a period of time is transferredto the data storage means at predetermined intervals and whentransferred, updates the information stored in the data storage means.19. The administration system according to claim 8 further including areporting means for producing reports based on the information stored inthe data storage means.
 20. The administration system according to claim13 wherein the data distribution means is adapted to receive and processrequests for information from users and is adapted to analyse theinformation stored in the data storage means and to provide therequested information once the request for information has beenprocessed.
 21. The administration system according to claim 20 wherein auser is provided with one of a plurality of access levels each accesslevel provided for security purposes and each access level grantingaccess to information in response to parameters chosen by a user andprocessing the request includes checking that the user has access to therequested information.
 22. The administration system according to claim1 wherein the data processing means and the data storage means are bothprovided with access codes which are independent of each other.
 23. Theadministration system according to claim 22 wherein more than one accesscode is provided for each of the data processing means and the datastorage means.